Bleach: Alternate Path
by Xavon Wrentaile
Summary: An alternate ending to the Full-Bring arc, and potentially a version of the Thousand Years War arc reflective of those changes. And yeah, "Omake 449" is canon for this, though don't expect it to come up much.
1. Chapter 1

Ichigo Kurosaki dropped to his knees, clutching the wound in his chest, on the verge of tears. Kugo Ginjo stood over him, looking evilly satisfied. Shukuro Tsukishima stared at the young man in cruel amusement a few steps back from his mentor. And behind him Moe Shishigawara looked slightly confused, but was carefully keeping his mouth shut. Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado stood at the edge of the forest, unable to move out and shaking in their confusion. No-one else had arrived yet, but Ichigo knew it would be minutes at most before the rest of his fake comrades from Xcution arrived.

Ginjo's betrayal stung, as did the loss of his recently realized Full-Bring powers. But worst was the thought that he had failed his friends and family. That they would go on believing that Tsukishima was someone they knew and trusted. And all because he had let Ginjo play him.

"He's crying," Tsukishma sounded almost sympathetic, "Poor…"

Suddenly, Ichigo's head snapped up, interrupting the katana wielder. Kurosaki's gaze fixing firmly on the other substitute Soul Reaper.

"Don't worry, Ginjo-san," the orange-haired teen declared, "I won't give up. I will find a way to save you and all the others."

"What's that?" Kugo asked, sounding amused but looking at the younger man suspiciously.

"I don't know how yet, but I will find a way to break Tsukishima's power and restore your real memories."

Ginjo grinned and snorted a laugh, "Didn't I just tell you that he already set my memories straight? That he altered my past, so I could fool you? And that the cut I just took was to remove that mark?"

"I don't buy it," Ichigo shook his head, and then cringed slightly from the pain the action sent shooting through his wound, "Which sounds more likely, that crap about him replacing your memories before and undoing it now? We don't know if he can even change someone back. And even if he can, what would have happened if we beat him first and he couldn't cut you a second time? It's more likely that when he cut you just now, he altered you memories so you would think that you were on his side, and that you made some elaborate plan to get my powers?"

Ginjo could not immediately answer. Tsukishima's powers could do exactly what Kurosaki was suggesting. But he had known Tsukishima since the other Full-bringer was a child, and trusted him implicitly. Didn't he?

"If that's true, why make me the one in charge?" Ginjo demanded.

"Who knows?" Ichigo shot back, "You are the leader of Xcution, and maybe there is only so far he can twist your memories. Which could make that the key to reversing what he did to you."

Ichigo shrugged and smirked slightly at the slender man, who was staying out of the discussion, "Or maybe he just wanted to make sure if something went wrong, we would go after you instead."

The older man sighed in defeat. Despite his cruel persona, it went against his nature to kill the helpless teen, especially after taking his powers. But he did not want to deal with Ichigo prowling around and trying to fix a condition that did not exist.

"What will it take to make you believe this?" Kugo asked with a hint of resignation.

Ichigo contemplated that for a moment, and then looked to the edge of the forest, where Chad and Orihime stood, looking dazed from having their minds tampered with.

"Give back my friends," Kurosaki answered. Ginjo looked confused and slightly annoyed, so Ichigo elaborated.

"If Tsukishima really can reverse his powers, prove it. If he puts Chad and Inoue back to normal, I'll know. And if you really are in charge, he will do what you tell him to. Lastly, if you really have what you want and are done with me, you don't need them anymore."

Kugo nodded, thinking that would assuage the slight doubt Ichigo had planted. But he was not so short sighted or magnanimous.

"You can have one of them," Ginjo agreed, "And since I'm a nice guy, I'll let you pick which one."

Ichigo glared at him in anger for a moment. He knew the older man was not being kind, forcing him to choose between his friends. Then his expression faded into one of contemplation and his eyes shifted to his two allies. He looked at Chad, but ultimately settled on Orihime. His expression softened as he stared at the lovely young woman. But his brown orbs kept flicking back to his giant friend. Finally he sighed.

"Orihime," Ichigo told Ginjo softly, "return her to normal."

"Done," the Full-bringer agreed, causing Kurosaki to look at him in surprise.

"What?" Ginjo smirked, "You expected me to go back on my word and give you Chad instead of your girlfriend? Maybe you thought with his strength you might be able to fight us? Too bad; Chad is a Full-Bringer, he's one of us. Besides, you need the little girl to fix you up."

He half turned and addressed Tsukishima, "Restore Inoue's memories."

The bookmark wielder met his eyes, the younger Full-Bringer's expression showing his misgivings over the order. And that seed of distrust flared in Kugo again.

"Do it," he ordered more firmly, and the slender man nodded. He hopped, his Bringer-Light catapulting him to behind the young woman. Then the sword that represented his power slashed downward. The apparently lethal cut passed through Orihime's body without damaging her clothing or flesh. For a moment she continued to stand there, her eyes blank and her body shuddering. Then she blinked, and her grey eyes focused again. She spared a moment to glare at the man behind her, and then ran to Ichigo.

"Ichigo-kun, I'm so sorry," she insisted as she knelt beside him, "Part of me knew something was wrong, but in my memory he took the place of my brother and some of my memories of you, too. I felt something was wrong, but my memory said I owed Tsukishima everything. I wasn't sure what to do."

"It's okay, Orihime-san," he reassured her by using her given name. Then he coughed and spasm pain flooded his face and his hand gripped his sternum more tightly.

"Just a moment, I'll heal you," she said. She placed her right hand on his left shoulder and her left hand over his right on his chest.

"Soten Kisshun, I reject," she intoned softly, and the familiar golden dome covered Kurosaki. For a few moments her energy pulsed around him, closing the gap Ichigo's self and even restoring the damage to his shirt. As she released her power, he looked up at her in surprise, his expression shielded from the members of Xcution by her fan of auburn hair. She gave him a determined look and a nod, and then hurried over to Uryu.

"So are we done here?" Ginjo asked smugly as Ichigo stood, taking his hand away from his healed body.

"Yeah, I think so," the younger man answered, a curious hitch in his voice. He bent down and picked up his combat pass. His grip tightened on the wooden talisman and it erupted into a sword as Ichigo's Full-bring armor wrapped his body once more.

"How…" Ginjo's angry question was cut off as he looked at Orihime, who had finished her treatment of the Quincy and took up position to Ichigo's right, her six sprites flashing around her.

Before any of the Full-bringers could take action, Kurosaki's spiritual pressure exploded again, shattering the sword and shredding the armor. In its place was a heavy black shihakusho, and a huge sword strapped to the young man's back. But elements of his Full-bring power remained; his new weapon had a broader blade near the tip and a hook like guard partially covering the handle near where it met the blade. And remnants of his armor remained wrapped around his wrist as bracers and around his neck body like an aborted chest protector or tattoo. Ginjo took a half step back in surprise at the restoration of his foe's Soul Reaper form.


	2. Chapter 2

Orihime Inoue's emotions were a mess, as her power surrounded Ichigo Kurosaki. Anger and shame over the violation she had suffered and the inability to help her friends that had resulted. Sadness over what Ichigo had endured, and what majority of his friends and family continued to endure. Worry for those people, and a hint of embarrassment over her physical contact with the former Soul Reaper. And a sliver of hope that Ichigo had a plan.

She gave her head a metaphorical shake, setting all of that aside to focus on her healing power. The cut to his chest was obvious. And though she could not see them, she could easily feel the variety of minor muscles strains he had accumulated during the battle. But more important was the damage to his soul.

The location corresponded roughly to the physical injury, but the damage was much greater. It appeared to her like a large portion of the skin and muscle from Kurosaki's sternum to his waist had been roughly carved off. The cause was obvious enough, this was the result of Kugo Ginjo stealing Ichigo's Full-Bring powers. For her it was simple enough to heal. She actually had more experience restoring spiritual injuries of Soul Reapers and friendly Hollows, than she did with repairing a solid Human body. She knew it would be easy enough to reject the damage, restoring his soul and with it his powers. She was uncertain if doing so would take this powers back from the other Substitute Soul Reaper, but that was less important. However in the external heartbeat that passed while she diagnosed him, Orihime saw something that stopped her from just healing her friend's current wounds.

Deep inside Ichigo's soul there were thick, jagged scars. Before she had been unable to sense them, but now the gap created by the theft laid them at least partially bare to the young woman. Though she was not truly seeing this with her eyes, it still 'looked' like injuries she had seen in old pictures and a handful of films. This was what was happened when someone's body was flayed. And not just with a simple whip, but with a cat o' nine tails or similar barbed torture device.

'How did this happen to your soul?' Orihime thought, knowing he could not hear her. But it only took a second for her to answer her own question.

An image popped into her head. One of the friend before her, but with longer, black hair. But before the last change, he had had with what looked like barbed chains wrapped around his right arm.

'Final Getsuga Tenshou,' she remembered, 'a state so powerful it burned away his Soul Reaper power forever. But maybe that's not true. Maybe they don't know how it really works. Or maybe they lied to make it easier.'

Her mind spun outward, thinking about what she had seen and been told. About her failed attempt to reject the consequence of using that power. And about what she was seeing now, and how that might explain various aspects.

'Perhaps the Final Bankai does not consume a Soul Reaper's powers. What if it scores their soul, allowing them to dig deeper and access their power more freely. And then afterwards, their soul is scarred, just like a Human would be, and they cannot access their power anymore. Like how some scars can cause constant pain or limit a person's mobility.'

It was conjecture, but it would fit. It would explain those last few moments of power he had had after the battle with Sosuke Aizen ended. And why he fell unconscious for a month after his power was gone. While the 'wound' still bled, he could still reach his power. And while his soul healed, his mind was dormant, putting his body into that coma-like state. That was why she could not reject the loss of his powers; his powers were not lost, they were blocked by the result of an injury she was not aware of, something buried within his soul that she could not see. And now that she knew, now that she could _see_, she could fix it.

'I reject,' she said silently, more firmly than she had before. Under the hole in his soul, Ichigo's old wound began to fade. The scars smoothed and then vanished, leaving behind an undamaged spirit. She kept going, restoring the Full-Bring powers that had been cut out of him.

'That way, even if I am wrong, he will still have his new powers at least.'

But she was certain that she was right. What she was less sure of, was if she would be able to do this second time, if Ichigo ever used the horrible power again. Even if she knew what it did to him, if she could not see the wounds because of their depth, she might not be able to remove them.

Ichigo looked at her in surprise as she finished, which she took as a good sign. She jogged over to Ishida, and negated the Quincy's wounds too. Then she took her place at Ichigo's right side, while Uryu moved to back him up on the left. She was happy enough when his Full-Bring armor reappeared. But she was thoroughly gratified when a moment later her theories were confirmed. Ichigo had his Soul Reaper powers back, and she had been the one to restore them. More than just restore, it appeared that learning Full-Bring had enhanced his other powers, though she could not tell to what degree.

"You did this, Orihime-san?" Ichigo asked as the leader of Xcution glared at them in uncertainty.

"Yes," she smiled and nodded, "Thanks to Ginjo-san stealing your Full-Bring powers, I was finally able to figure out why you lost your Soul Reaper powers from using the Final Getsuga Tenshou."

"You'll have to explain it later," Ishida interjected, sounding curious and nervous. But definitely more nervous, for as he raised his bow towards the Full-Bringers, the other members of Xcution finally reached the battlefield. Jackie Tristan, Yukio Hans Vorarlberna, and Giriko Kutsuzawa all looked surprised at Ichigo's current form, but their attention quickly shifted to their leader. Riruka Dokugamine, however, could not take her eyes off Kurosaki. Orihime felt a pang of concern and took a half-step closer to the restored Shinigami.

"I would be interested to hear about that too," Ginjo added, his confidence restored by his allies' arrival, "But Ichigo, you aren't going to make this difficult are you?"

"That depends," Kurosaki growled, "I might be willing to overlook this, if Tsukishima restores the rest of my friends and family. And dispose of that copy of my powers you stole."

"You already took Ichigo's powers?" Yukio prompted, looking back to the older boy in confusion.

"If that is true, I would like to know why you have taken his power for yourself," Giriko said sternly, "That was not our arrangement. We agreed to help Ichigo, in return for an equal share of his abilities. Do you intend to betray us?"

"What?" Riruka screeched, seemingly unaware of her allies' goal, "I never…"

"Quit your whining" Kugo sounded tired as he snapped at his comrades, "You'll get what's coming to you."

"I don't…" the pink-haired Full-Bringer's protest was cut off again as Ginjo half turned, and slashed his sword through the other four members of Xcution.

"You killed you own…" Ichigo shouted, but fell silent as, instead of collapsing in sprays of blood, the four Humans were engulfed in plumes of white Spiritual Pressure. When it faded, each was transformed. Yukio, Giriko, and Jackie studied their new forms with interest, but Riruka just looked down pensively.

"Now then, will you help me get rid of this guy?" their leader prompted, pointing his sword at Kurosaki, "He has already played his part, but is proving to be quite the persistent pest. But try not to kill the girl, not until we find out what she did and if we can use it."

"Are you ready, Uryu, Orihime?" Ichigo left off honorifics in his haste, and drew the restored Zangetsu.

"Of course," the Quincy said smugly, his previous doubts overridden by annoyance that his ally had even asked the question.

"Urk?" a random noise escaped Inoue, and when her friends turned to look, they saw the curved blade of a katana emerging from her left breast, over her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes lit with rage at the sight of the curved blade emerging from his friend's ample chest. His attention briefly returned the members of Xcution, but Tsukishima had not moved. In fact, the Full-Bringers looked as surprised as he was. Except for Ginjo, who either expected the attack, or just had a better poker face than the rest of his allies.

"Kuchiki-san?" Uryu uttered in shock, and Ichigo looked towards Orihime again. Realizing he could not see who held the sword, he took a step back and craned his neck. The tiny Soul Reaper had been hidden completely behind the more voluptuous Inoue. As Ichigo finally noticed her, she carefully slid the katana back out of the wound, and regarded him impassively.

"Rukia?" he queried incredulously, "Did Tsukishima get to you too?"

Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the statement, and he tensed for an attack.

"You fool," she snarled instead, "Do you think I would let someone like that land a hit on me?"

He considered that for a moment, until Orihime collapsed backwards. He used Flash Step to appear behind her, catching the healer before she hit the ground. Ishida watched them out of the corner of his eye, but kept most of his attention on the Full-Bringers. Who, in turn, were too confused or amused by the events unfolding, to try to take advantage of the situation.

"What the hell am I supposed to think? You attacked Orihime," Ichigo shouted at Rukia, not willing to admit it had been a terminal strike.

"Orihime, is it?" she flashed a smile for a second. Then it quickly turned into a smug glower, "And here I thought you were finally using your brain, after pulling off the ploy on Ginjo just now."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo said dangerously. He did not miss the fact that she had apparently been watching for a while without making her presence known or helping. It reinforced his initial theory for the reason behind the attack. But after everything they had been through, he could not help but give the slender woman the benefit of the doubt.

"Use your eyes, you idiot," she countered, "This sword doesn't even have a blade."

He studied the scene again. The first thing he noticed was that the katana she held was not her Zanpakuto. Sode no Shirayuki was still in her scabbard at Rukia's waist. Looking more closely, he saw that the sword Rukia held indeed did not have a solid blade, just a flickering mass of insubstantial spiritual energy in the shape of a katana. Glancing down at the girl in his arms, he saw that for the second time that evening, Orihime had been cut without any visible damage. He touched her neck to check her pulse. It was steady and strong. And the instant his skin touched hers, her eyes snapped back open and light blue Reishi began to pour from where Rukia had stabbed her. Orihime muttered a soft thanks as she staggered back to her feet, stepping away from him.

"This sword was meant for you," Rukia told him, "But in the event it proved unnecessary, Urahara had other plans for it…"

* * *

_Isshin Kurosaki watched in anger as Kugo Ginjo withdrew the tip of his sword from Ichigo's chest. It was all he could do to not jump out and cut down the twice traitor himself. But there were multiple reasons why he could not intervene, so Ichigo's father swallowed his rage. As his son collapsed with a look of defeat, his gaze shifted to Rukia._

"_It's time," he told her, "go."_

"_Hold up a second," Kisuke Urahara interrupted, his eyes narrowing as Ichigo's expression quickly changed to thoughtful, and then determined. His companions both glared at the shopkeeper, but Rukia did not move._

_The three watched as Ichigo played Ginjo like a cheap fiddle, instilling doubt in Tsukishima and then convincing the leader of Xcution that asking for Orihime was just a ploy to get Chad back. The young woman healed him and an instant later, Ichigo revealed his Full-Bring had been restored. Isshin's scowled deepened at that, and only faltered for a moment when Ichigo revealed his Shinigami powers had returned as well._

"_Well then, I guess we will be going with plan B," Kisuke stated with his typical dry, smug, amusement. Rukia nodded and darted away._

"_You knew this was going to happen," Isshen's voice said that he was very displeased with his friend._

"_This?" the scientist shook his head, "No, in my probability analysis, the permutations of 'Orihime breaks free from Tsukishima and restores Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers' had slightly lower chance than 'meteor strike kills everyone here' and slightly better than 'the loss of Full-Bring causes Ichigo to spontaneously become a Jedi'. Oh, and that's the combined probability for every variation of what just occurred."_

"_Enough jokes."_

"_I'm not joking," Urahara said flippantly, "I can even show you the spreadsheet."_

"_There was a small but definite chance that Ichigo's Soul Reaper powers would return without our intervention," Kisuke continued, his voice finally becoming serious, "We just don't know enough about Full-Bring. Or the Final Bankai, for that matter. That's why we decided to wait until his Full-Bring powers were removed in the first place. Too much uncertainty. So, in the event that Ichigo's powers were restored, I had a backup plan. No use letting everyone's efforts go to waste."_

"_Yamamoto is not going to be happy about this," the elder Kurosaki finally calmed, slightly. Kisuke simply grinned._

"_Just what was the probability that Ichigo would not need that sword," Isshin asked._

"_One in fifteen."_

* * *

The swirling cloud of Reishi enveloped Orihime, different than what happened to the Full-Bringers only in its color. When it faded away, Inoue's appearance had changed. She now wore the same heavy black robes Ichigo and Rukia did. And a katana with a simple oblong tsuba sat on her left hip. Most unexpectedly, her normally loose hair had been drawn into a ponytail, with six thick bands of silver and turquoise even spaced down its length.

"Ehhh?" She exclaimed, looking at herself, spinning in place to try to see the back of her altered outfit.

"Did you give Orihime Soul Reaper powers?" Ichigo asked skeptically.

"As I said, that sword was meant to restore your powers," Kuchiki explained, "attempting to give Orihime Soul Reaper powers was a backup plan."

"It won't matter," Ginjo shouted, unnerved again, "You were able to make Ichigo a Soul Reaper the first time because of his heritage; the potential was already there. Just pouring your measly Spiritual Pressure into Inoue will give her temporary powers at best."

"Why was that your backup plan?" Uryu prompted curiously.

"Hachigan Ushoda," Rukia supplied, ignoring the Full-Bringer "He said Orihime's powers were similar to a Soul Reaper's and that he considered teaching her Kido. And Orihime has been training with Yoruichi this past year. It wasn't that much of a stretch."

"You idiot," a new voice, directed at Ginjo, rang down from above them, "It wasn't just Rukia's power either."

Everyone looked up to see five familiar figures staring down at them from the newly opened Senakimon.

"Almost every seated member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads loaded their Spiritual Pressure into that sword," Renji Abarai continued.

"Or did you think all of us couldn't bring out one person's potential," Byakuya Kuchiki continued imperiously. The members of Xcution blanched as they did the math in their heads.

"Tsk. It looks like you've gotten some reinforcement," Kugo sounded more annoyed than anything, "But it is still eight on nine. And no matter how much power they poured into her, some newly minted Soul Reaper wll be backup at best."

"Unfortunately, we are only here to observe," Toshiro Hitsugaya said apologetically.

"Old man Yama ordered us not to fight," Kenpachi Zaraki spat, sounding disgusted, and the look in Ikkaku Madarame's face indicated his third seat agreed.

"Eight on three then?" Riruka sounded even less happy at the disparity.

"Four," Rukia countered, "I'm under no such orders."

"And one of you totally worthless," Giriko inclined his head towards Orihime. In response, she took her position at Ichigo's side, and drew her Zanpakuto. She held the blade horizontally in front of her chest, and Ginjo snorted at her lack of sword skill.

"Reject the unwanted Fate, Shun Shun Rikka!"


	4. Chapter 4

Orihime Inoue changed again, though this change was less dramatic. A point of light flashed from each of the six rings on her ponytail. The six glowing motes circled around the tsuba of her Zanpakuto, before wrapping around her left wrist. In their wake, the katana's guard now had the familiar six petal hibiscus shape and coloring. And a thick silver bracer wrapped around the outside of her left sleeve from wrist to elbow, bearing the same motif.

"So you can already use Shikai," Ginjo taunted, "It does matter much, you are still inexperienced. And we have you outnumbered two to one."

"I'd like to know how you are coming by that count," Ishida countered, "I only see seven of you."

"Count again," Tsukishima said softly, "There are eight Full-Bringers here. Isn't that right, Sado-kun?"

Chad stepped away from the edge of the forest, his movements unsteady.

"I'm sorry, Ichigo," the giant teen said roughly, "Tsukishima has guarded me my whole life, and helped me come to respect myself. He is the only main reason I have been able to adjust to life in Japan. I won't hurt any of you, but I can't allow you to hurt him or my new comrades either."

"And that is not counting our other allies," Giriko said in his typical condescending manner. He gestured broadly towards the tree line, where new figures had taken the place of Chad. The Quincy and Soul Reapers recognized Tatsuki Arisawa and Karin Kurosaki at the front, with other familiar shapes still partially hidden by the gloom.

"You bastards are still holding hostages?" Ichigo snarled, Zangetsu coming up and his legs tensing.

"And don't forget we just got a level-up of our own," Yukio noted, gripping his PSP tightly.

Orihime walked carefully forward, stopping when she was just ahead of Ichigo, glaring intently at the Tsukishima and Ginjo. They met her gaze, neither seeming impressed. She raised her sword and placed both the blade and guard against her bracer.

"Would you like to compare our new powers?" she asked sternly.

"Still no form," Tsukishima mocked in response.

Orihime dragged her Zanpakuto along the kote. It threw off sparks and the blade began to glow with the same golden color as her shield. As the weapon and armor separated, she pointed the blade at the ground.

"Soten Kisshun, I reject," she chanted again, this time with angry certainty. She stabbed her sword into the ground. A wave of golden energy erupted towards the Full-Bringers. All of them except Chad and Riruka cringed. The ones who had benefited from Ichigo's Full-Bring flinched because they expected her restoration ability to change them back to how they were before the theft. And Tsukishima and Shishigawara simply reacted instinctively to what looked like an attack. But the surge passed over them without any visible effect.

"It appears you have not mastered your new powers," the memory changer said softly, yet superiorly.

"Ha!" his mohawked flunky exclaimed, pointing at her triumphantly. He took a half-step forward to accentuate the gesture. Except his foot hit a small hole, and he pitched forward onto his chin. Despite its painful and almost comedic appearance, the stumble was a lucky one, as it saved him from having his skull caved in.

Chad's black and crimson wrapped hand passed through the spot where Moe's head had been. An instant later, Bringer-Light appeared under his sneakers, and he reappeared beside Uryu.

"Let's make that five on seven," his deep voice rumbled.

"What did you do?" Tsukishima stared at Orihime, confused and perhaps a bit frightened.

"I know your power," she told him sharply, placing her left hand over her heart, "I can reject it. And I can even the odds."

A rustling attracted the Full-Bringers' attention for a moment. Everyone looked, to see Tatsuki and Karin quickly moving to lead Tsukishima's other victims away.

Orihime wished that she could have stripped Ichigo's stolen power from them as they had expected. But Soten Kisshun was at its core a healing power. She could not remove that power from them unless it was somehow causing them harm. Not that she was going to tell them that. Instead she moved back parallel to Ichigo and raised Shun Shun Rikka in a blatant imitation of how he was holding Zangetsu.

"A fair fight, huh?" Ginjo smirked, while his first apprentice glared at the healer, "You're not quite there yet, but if your floating friends aren't going to intervene or there is anyone else hiding in the woods, this is as close as you are going to get."

Ichigo frowned at that. He could sense his father and Urahara out there. But they were moving away. He realized they were escorting the rest of his family and friends to safety, in case things got out of hand or one of the Full-Bringers made a move on them. Like the Soul Reapers had implied, this fight belonged to his nakama. He was just glad Rukia was a part of that, and that he had Chad back.

"It's not like we aren't used to uphill battles," Ichigo quipped to his team.

"That's so sad it's almost cute," Ginjo shook his head. The he stated one name as a command, "Yukio."

The youngest member of Xcution started to raise his game, when Riruka's stunningly long leg shot up and kicked the PSP out of his hand. By the time he caught it, she had used her powers to land within range of Zangetsu.

"You mind if we make this six on six?" she asked Ichigo nervously.

"Riruka," Jackie exhaled her name uncertainly.

"That is a foolish move," Giriko lectured from across the clearing, "betraying us and putting yourself on the losing team for a crush."

"Shut the hell up," the tsundere snapped, turning bright red.

"I didn't want this," she told Ichigo, bringing her voice under control, just loud enough that everyone could hear her, "I never wanted any of this. This power is a curse. I joined Xcution partly so I wouldn't be alone anymore, but mostly because I really believed his lies. I wanted to be normal."

Orihime studied Riruka, and nodded slightly. She trusted the other girl, based on the time they spent together during Ichigo's training, and Rurika's tsundere nature in general. The new Soul Reaper tried to convince herself that her belief was not just because she still wanted a romantic rival.

"You were the ones who betrayed me," Riruka informed Ginjo, unaware of Inoue's internal debate, "lying to me, making me get stronger, and forcing this on me."

She gestured at the white armor that had formed on her body from her unwanted share of Ichigo's original Full-Bring.

"Isn't it the same for you, Jackie?" she demanded of the American woman, "I thought you hated your powers, your boots, and wanted to be rid of them as much as I do."

"It's not that simple," Jackie's voice was husky, "As much as I hate it, I'm not sure how to live without it anymore. And if I leave Xcution, then I will be alone again."

For a few tense moments the two groups both studied the pick-haired woman.

"Yukio, Riruka's made her choice," Ginjo told the blonde boy, "Do it, before anyone else goes crazy."

"GAME START," the handheld announced, and their world dissolved in a mass of pixels.


End file.
